This application is in response to RFA-NR-004, Nursing Partnership Centers on Health Disparities, linking the Schools of Nursing at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), and the University of Puerto Rico (UPR). The goal of this work is to enhance the knowledge base for nursing care in order to improve the quality of lives of people living with and affected by HIV disease. The long-term goal of the Center is to ensure the independence of the partnering Minority Serving Institution (MSI), namely the University of Puerto Rico, School of Nursing. The groups most affected with new cases of HIV/AIDS are racial/ethnic minorities, women, and the poor -the very groups, which have less access to health care services. The San Francisco Bay Area and the Island of Puerto Rico are among the geographic areas that have the highest per capita incidence of HIV/AIDS in the United States. At the UCSF School of Nursing there exists a strong interest in and a critical mass of investigators studying HIV/AIDS in minorities, women, and the poor. And, there is a cadre of faculty from the School of Nursing, University of Puerto Rico, likewise interested in HIV/AIDS research and an environment conducive to research development and training. This application proposes to establish the Nursing Research Center on HIV/AIDS Health Disparities to achieve the following aims: (1) to expand the number of nurse researchers involved in research on HIV/AIDS health disparities; (2) to increase the number of research projects aimed at reducing health disparities in HIV disease; and, (3) to enhance the career development of minority nurse investigators. [unreadable] [unreadable]